You think you know Birdy? You know, BIRDY! - the 14 year old who broke through with her version of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" ( which would go on to achieve platinum status in the US); Birdy, whose debut album sold millions and catapulted her to glory around the world, from her native UK to Australia where she would sell out 3 gigs at Sydney Opera House; Birdy who seemed to appear from nowhere and her rise looked to be inexorable. That's the reductive version....

Now 19, Birdy's recent duet with Rhodes on their brilliant song 'Let It All Go' was released on Ministry Of Sound and caused something of a stir at Radio 1 after the duo performed it on the Live Lounge. At the same time Birdy's acoustic version of her song 'Wings" spent weeks at No 1 on the Shazam chart and has remained in the Shazam Top 10 for months. For those who only knew her from her (admittedly superlative) choice of covers - The xx, Antony and The Johnsons, Ed Sheeran, Bon Iver - this might have been a revelation were it not for the overlooked fact that her second album 'Fire Within' had been totally self-composed.

The Rhodes collaboration appears at a time when Birdy's music has been heard in major soundtracks including 'The Hunger Games' and 'Brave', which included her song "Learn Me Right", performed with Mumford and Sons. In addition, Birdy wrote 'Not About Angels" for the huge grossing film "The Fault In our Stars", and two further songs for the soundtrack. This was a few years after she performed a brilliantly intense version of Anthony Hegarty's 'Bird Gerhl' at the opening of the Paralympic Games in London.

Now Birdy herself sees one of her own songs being covered as 'Wings' by Nothing But Thieves is leapt on by Radio 1 after their performance on the Live Lounge.

In the middle of all this burst of collaborative activity Birdy is in the studio recording her third album.

For an artist whose last album was in 2013, there's been a lot of disparate creative elements informing Birdy's new songs. And it's remarkable that, even during protracted periods in the studio, she has amassed 2.5 million Facebook followers, 1 million subscribers on Spotify, 1.2 million subscribers to her YouTube channel and a staggering 360 million views on YouTube.

She's now 19 and has never really been what many people thought she was. She's quiet but supremely focused; she's self effacing yet self aware enough to know that real power as an artist lies in saying no as much as saying yes. She's a great songwriter with a unique voice and, yes, an immaculate choice of cover versions - but also an equally immaculate sense of observation that renders her own songs both wonderful and worthy of being covered themselves.

You thought you knew Birdy? Maybe here's where one story ends and a new one begins....

Award Nominations:

2012 NRJ Awards France - Best International Female - Nominated

2013 BRIT Awards UK - Best Female Artist - Nominated

2013 ECHO Awards GERMANY - Best International Female Artist - Winner

2014 Hollywood Music in Media Award - USA - Best Song in a Film (The Fault in Our Stars) - Nominated

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